TU-Tagging: A Method for Identifying Layer-Enriched Neuronal Genes in Developing Mouse Visual Cortex.

Thiouracil (TU)-tagging is an intersectional method for covalently labeling newly transcribed RNAs within specific cell types. Cell type specificity is generated through targeted transgenic expression of the enzyme uracil phosphoribosyl transferase (UPRT); temporal specificity is generated through a pulse of the modified uracil analog 4TU. This technique has been applied in mouse using a Cre-dependent UPRT transgene, , to profile RNAs in endothelial cells, but it remained untested whether 4TU can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) or whether this transgene can be used to purify neuronal RNAs.

Perceptual gap detection is mediated by gap termination responses in auditory cortex.

Background: Understanding speech in the presence of background noise often becomes increasingly difficult with age. These age-related speech processing deficits reflect impairments in temporal acuity. Gap detection is a model for temporal acuity in speech processing in which a gap inserted in white noise acts as a cue that attenuates subsequent startle responses.

Transgenic targeting of recombinant rabies virus reveals monosynaptic connectivity of specific neurons.

Understanding how neural circuits work requires a detailed knowledge of cellular-level connectivity. Our current understanding of neural circuitry is limited by the constraints of existing tools for transsynaptic tracing. Some of the most intractable problems are a lack of cellular specificity of uptake, transport across multiple synaptic steps conflating direct and indirect inputs, and poor labeling of minor inputs.